Ahmedabad is having the Legacy of Indo – Dutch relationship

We all know about Britishers but not about the Dutch. Well, they didn’t rule us but had trading relations with us for cotton, yarn and indigo. little do we know that Ahmedabad too has a piece of Dutch hidden amidst the hustle bustle of Kankaria Lake. We are talking about the Dutch Cemetery Located in the heart of the city.Dutch tombs at one Tree Hill Garden by the side of Kankaria Lake are a testimony to the Dutch presence in Ahmedabad during the 17th and 18th Centuries.This Dutch Cemetery is a representation of the Indo- Dutch trade relationship that was initiated Centuries ago. These Dutch traders from Holland treaded in cotton cloth , Yarn and indigo in Ahmedabad and they made this city their home for life. Thus, they never returned , and that's why they were laid to rest here itself.The Cemetery was built on a hill back in 1700 AD and has 49 Dutch and Armenian graves with cenotaphs in Indian and western styles. The inscriptions on some of the tombs are in Dutch and Latin. The tombs represent four types : domed tombs , pyramids , walled tombs and plain gravestones.The three domes , which are considered to be a heritage site and are protected by the Gujarat state archaeology department , occupy large pieces of land. Even the delegation from the Embassy of the Netherlands had taken interest in it and contributed to manage it.Gujarat has experienced the massive earthquake in 2001. Not only lives were lost, big buildings were demolished too. The Dutch cemetery's tombs were also badly ruined but thanks to AMC and the Archaeological Department this heritage was restored to its past glory again. Article by Dharaa Patel